Well around the chisago lakes area I have found the best way if you doo not have a lot of equipment is a small glow jig and small crappie minnow under a bobber that just floats the rig. If you do not have a flasher set one a few feet from the bottom and the other at half way from the bottom and move them up and down until you find them. There are many, many ways to get crappies but for just starting out this is simple and works very well. This is getting to be a thing of the past (to bad) but if you are out talk to others and if you are lucky you will run into someone great that will no have a issue with showing you what they do just like me and many on sites like this we love to help out a fellow fisher person when we can. Not sure where you are located but Chisago lake on the south bay is full of crappies and water is not that deep so finding the corret depth is not very hard. Hope you get on them as they are a grate time when you get on them.Shorefisher